If you buy the quinoa that needs to be cooked, follow the package instructions. Usually it takes about 15 minutes to cook. If you buy the organic quinoa that is already cooked from Trader Joes, just heat up according to box instructions.

Once the quinoa has been cooked or heated up, place in a large bowl and immediately add the cream cheese so it melts and mixes easier.

Add all the other ingredients except the eggs and mix together.

Beat eggs together and then pour into quinoa mixture and mix well. The eggs help bind the mixture together so that it does not fall apart.

Spray your mini tart pan with cooking spray and then fill with the quinoa mixture.

Cook at 350 in the over for 20 minutes and let cool for about 5 minutes.

Use a knife around the edges to help get the tartlets out without breaking them and serve on a platter.

Fresh figs can be found this time of year in the produce section at some gourmet groceries stores or farmers markets. Believe it or not there are about 6 different types of figs: Black Mission Figs, Brown Turkey Figs, Adriatic Figs (also called white figs), Calimyrna Figs, and Kodota Figs which are less sweet than the other figs.

I found the Brown Turkey Figs, and they are very sweet. Figs are one of those fruits that can be used for so many things. You use them in a salad, on a cheese platter freshly cut or in jam form like this recipe. you can also use it to baste on a pork tenderloin or chop. It would also be really great with lamb. And of course my original intent when I bought the figs was to braise them in a port and serve over ice cream, but I decided I would make this jam instead.

I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you like it, I would love to have you comment on my blog post for this recipe.

Every year my husband and I go to Lake Arrowhead for the 4th of July weekend with our family. My sister-n-law has a beautiful house there overlooking the lake. We spend our time on the lake, but we also spend a fare amount of time cooking, eating, drinking and hanging out on the patio.

I love to experiment with new foods together, so I came up the this yummy appetizer where I grilled peaches marinated in chocolate balsamic vinegar.

What can go wrong when you put fresh peaches in anything right? I served the grilled peaches with buratta cheese and candied pecans with a small amount of honey drizzled on top. I served it with some cranberry and pumpkin seed crackers, but you can pretty much serve this with any type of cracker and it would taste great!

I love buratta cheese because it’s creamer than traditional mozzarella cheese and it has a richer flavor. If you have never tried it, I highly recommend it. I use it a lot when I make my Caprese salad as well.

You can find buratta cheese in most stores, but if you cannot find it traditional mozzarella would taste great with this too. Or if you are feeling more adventurous you could also try ricotta cheese which I almost tried. I will save that for another time.

These raincoast crisps are one of my favorite crackers. This particular brand is harder to find, but you can usually find similar ones in most stores.

Print Recipe

Grilled Peaches Marinated in Chocolate Balsamic

Grilled Peaches are good without anything added to them at all, so just imagine yummy chocolate balsamic on them!

Place peaches in a bowl and pour the chocolate balsamic over it and mix well. Let soak for about 10 minutes or so.

When the grill is ready grill the peaches on medium heat for approximately 15 minutes. Make sure to check frequently so that they don't get too mushy.

When the peaches are done, take off grill and place on a platter.

Add the buratta cheese to the platter, and then drizzle the honey and add the candied pecans.

You can add the crackers to the platter or put in a separate dish.

Recipe Notes

How to make your own candied pecans:

I have done them a few different ways using either regular refined white sugar, raw sugar and brown sugar. I have also made them with and without butter. If you don't use butter, using the refined sugar because it melts much better than brown sugar. All you do is add the pecans in a skillet at medium heat and sprinkle whatever sugar you want to use in the pan (usually about a cup). If you decide you want to use butter, add the butter first. I usually use about a tablespoon of butter for a full bag of pecans.

Caprese skewers are really easy to make, and they look beautiful and colorful as well. Here are two different types I made over the holidays. If you are in need of an easy appetizer, this one is for you!

The first one is with cherub tomato’s, the smaller mozzarella balls which I got at Nugget, and fresh basil. Put them on skewers and drizzle olive oil over the top with a bit of salt. You can also drizzle balsamic vinegar over the top, but I opted to leave it out for this one.

The second one is cherub tomatoes, small mozzarella balls, basil and salami. I made a homemade pesto with fresh basil, olive oil and pine nuts to drizzle over the top.

I decided to make muffin tin potatoes gratin using sweet potatoes. There are so many cool things you can cook in a muffin tin, and it makes for a better presentation if you have guests.

Ingredients:

4 to 6 sweet potatoes

1 block Gruyere cheese (about 6 cups)

1 cup whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

nutmeg to taste

cayenne pepper to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Peel the potatoes and then use a mandolin to cut the potatoes into thin slices. If you do not have a mandolin, use a knife to get the potatoes as thin as possible. Mandolins are so worth the money, so I would recommend getting one if you don’t already have one.

Place potatoes in a bowl and fill with water and salt. This will ensure that they don’t brown before you are ready to put everything together.

Shred the Gruyere cheese and set aside.

Cook the milk and heavy whipping cream on medium heat, and add all the spices. I usually do equal amounts of nutmeg and cayenne pepper.

Add 1/2 of the shredded cheese and stir until the cheese is melted, and then set aside.

Grease muffin tin.

Drain the potatoes and pat down before putting them into the muffin pan.

Layer the potatoes into each muffin tin slot.

Pour the milk, cream and cheese mixture into each tin. Be careful about pouring all the way to the top because it will overflow. Leave a bit of room at the top.

Add remaining Gruyere cheese to the top.

Heat oven to 350.

Place the muffin pan onto a cooking sheet to ensure it doesn’t spill into your oven.

Cook approximately 40-45 minutes.

Cool for at least 10-15 minutes before serving. I put two servings onto each plate right on top of each other.

Potatoes gratin pretty much goes with any type of meat (chicken, pork, beef or fish)!

Ok, so now that I have some time I am catching up on my cooking blog with all the recipes I didn’t post! This pulled pork nachos dish I made a few months back because I had so much left over pulled pork from a party, I decided that pulled pork on nachos would be a great combination.

Ingredients:

Your favorite tortilla chips

Homemade or store bought pulled pork

Refried beans (optional)

1 to 2 cups cheddar cheese

Sliced jalapenos (fresh or from jar)

chopped scallions (optional)

Roma or Grape tomatoes (optional)

As you can see from the picture, I was missing some of the optional ingredients because at the time I didn’t have them. They would have made these nachos taste so much better!!!!

If you are in need of a quick appetizer that looks great, but is really easy try this easy cheese and fruit platter!

Platter Options:

Grapes

Strawberries

Raspberries

Blackberries

Dried Apricots

Dried Cranberries

Candied Pecans or Walnuts

Marcona Almonds

Crackers

Brie Cheese

Cambazola Cheese

You could also add Fig jam or some other kind of chutney that would go well with cheese, fruit and crackers. Just put it in a cute little dish and add it to the platter. You could also get some harder cheeses and cut them into cubes and place on the platter as well. There are a lot of options that are easy and can look nice on a platter.

I recently had a broker open at one of my listings, and I decided to make my famous Thai Noodle salad that I have perfected over the years. I served it in Chinese Food Boxes that I got at Michaels and put my logo on it. This could be a great appetizer though for any party.

Ingredients:

1 package of spaghetti noodles (this time I tried the short spaghetti noodles because I thought they would be easier to eat as an appetizer)

Directions:

Cook the spaghetti noodle per package instructions; drain and then place in a large bowl.

While the pasta is still warm add the sauce along with all the other ingredients and mix well.

Garnish with Cilantro and/or more peanuts.

This can be made a day before. The noodles end up soaking up the liquid, so you can make more sauce or what I have done when I am in a hurry is just put some rice vinegar in it and mix right before you are ready to serve.